


Inexplicable Choices

by Kendrickhier



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/F, torture mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-18 23:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendrickhier/pseuds/Kendrickhier
Summary: General Danvers Week: Canon Divergence AUor an excuse to lower Astra's body countWhat if Alex had actually chosen to save Astra from General Lane’s rounds of torture, instead of waiting for it to be over and people dying because of false intel? That’s the canon divergence I’m here to explore with you today, fellow soldiers.





	Inexplicable Choices

Alex’s heart sinks when she sees Astra. Usually Astra has this big strong presence that is easy to be intimidated by, and whenever Alex or any of the other agents visit her in her cell this is no different; she refuses to show weakness to them. Alex has only seen her small and vulnerable on the surveillance cameras when she’s on her own, or the few times she’s interacted with Kara. And then earlier, on her knees in front of General Lane, Alex had seen her look terrified.

But none of that compared to how utterly small she looks now, how she’s trembling and curled up as the last of the Kryptonite is fading from her system. She’s not sure why Lane decided to leave her alone in between rounds, to have a coffee break with his men or whatever he is doing, but it’s a decision he’s going to regret.

When Astra sees Alex she doesn’t even bother to recompose herself, only laugh in this painfully self-deprecating way. “Are you here to torture me too?”

It pains Alex to hear how weak her voice sounds, how this strong warrior is reduced to this. It only solidifies her resolve of following through on her plan. “No, I’m here to offer you an out. We both know this torture is pointless.”

“Go on…”

“I’m going to get you out of here,” Alex states plainly, “and you’re going to hear me out.”

Astra narrows her eyes, and the suspicion is almost a relief to Alex; Lane hasn’t broken her yet. “Why?”

 _Because you’re still Kara’s aunt. Because you haven’t actually done anything wrong yet. Because no one deserves to be tortured like this. Because I don’t want to see you suffer._ All reasons that are on the tip of her tongue and remain unspoken. She doesn’t stop to think why she doesn’t want to see the woman in pain, instead clings to the believe that all of this is for her sister, and not for any selfish reason.

But her reasons really don’t matter right now, they don’t have time for this.

“Are you going to question me, or are you coming with me?”

Astra pushes herself up slowly, and Alex takes that as a cue to approach her. The lack of restraints is a testament to Lane’s abuse of the Kryptonite, and she feels bad when she pulls out a set of Kryptonite cuffs for Astra herself.

To her credit, Astra only eyes them wearily for a brief moment. “I trust you know what you’re doing,” she says, throwing Alex a quick look that says she’ll regret it if this is another ploy, before offering up her wrists.

Alex doesn’t bother to mention that this is for her back-up plan in case they get caught, and that said plan will include her either having to be on the run for the rest of her life, or face charges of treason. She knows what she’s doing, sure, but what she knows is that this is a terrible idea with a risk factor that is much too high.

But somehow it feels worth the risk.

“Can you stand?” Alex asks as she locks the cuffs into place, fully expecting to be dismissed. If Astra is anything like herself she’d rather crawl out of the room by herself than ask someone for help, let alone an enemy soldier. Because that’s what they are to each other: enemies.

Even when it doesn’t feel like that right now, even when they’re both Kara’s family - which Astra doesn’t know - and even when they share a common goal.

She can see Astra test her muscles by tensing them without actually trying to get to her feet. A few beats pass, and Astra lets out a frustrated noise before looking at Alex. “Some help would be appreciated,” she admits.

And so Alex hauls her to her feet, supporting her weight for as long as Astra needs it as they sneak out of the base. She’s sure they will later check the footage of the security cameras, once they notice Astra is gone, and there’s really no way to prevent that. If all of this goes well, she’s sure J’onn will let her get away with it.

Neither of them comments on it when Astra is still leaning on her once they’re out in the sunlight.

\-----

“Are you really here to save all of us?”

They’ve been driving silently since they left the DEO, and Alex finally breaks the silence now that she’s convinced Astra won’t open the door and fly off; she’d removed the cuffs the moment they were out of sight.

Astra raises an eyebrow at her, but then looks back in front of her, at the endless stretches of the desert. “Yes.”

“How?”

Kara’d told her what transpired between her and Astra, how she’d tried to convince her niece to join her cause, but more importantly, what that cause entailed: preventing the planet’s destruction. It’s the only reason Alex is able to justify what she’s risking, at least to herself.

“By making the humans see what they’re doing,” she answers. “By giving them the courage to do what needs to be done.”

Alex frowns, and she doesn’t bother to hide the astonishment in her voice. After all that she expected Astra to have some kind of elaborate evil scheme, not being the extraterrestrial version of Greenpeace. “You’re here to _inspire_ us? Talking some sense into humanity, that’s your big plan?”

It makes sense now why Astra would want Kara - or rather, Supergirl - on her side. If diplomacy has any chance of success, it has to come from someone people actually listen to, and as a beacon of hope, Supergirl is just the person.

A scoff. “Of course not. Diplomacy didn’t work on Krypton, I don’t expect it to work now.”

Well, at least she’s realistic. “Then how?”

Astra turns to look at her and studies her closely. Alex wonders what she’s looking for, what she sees, because Astra smiles sadly before looking back in front of her. “You’d condemn me if you knew.”

She wants to ask how bad it could be, wants to ask why she’d go through with something even she herself knows isn’t okay, but truth is Alex knows enough; she’s a soldier too. You do what’s necessary, and sometimes that includes making the hard choice or going against your morals.

So instead she sighs.

“We have a common goal here, and clearly you don’t think we’d agree with your terms, so how about you try on our terms? We could work on a new plan together,” Alex offers. “You wouldn’t have to fight Kara.” It’s almost added as an afterthought, but she can see in her peripherals that it’s hit its mark.

Nonetheless, Astra tries to argue. “It’s not that sim-”

Alex shakes her head, cutting her off. “Just give it some thought, you can always fall back on your old plan. Come find me if you’re willing to give it a shot, okay?”

Clenching her jaw, Astra nods once. “Okay.”

\-----

The trade went by smoothly, J’onn returned to his position as director and made sure Alex wouldn’t get charged with treason for helping an alien hostile make her escape. Well, after lecturing her for a solid hour on how you, one, don’t negotiate with terrorists, and two, don’t do crazy things like that without any form of backup. It’s only because Astra insisted on honoring the agreement and letting the two of them go that they are still alive and free.

Alex is really glad she didn’t misjudge Astra’s sense of honor.

But that was weeks ago, and by now Alex is at the end of her two-week suspension without any news on Astra, or Fort Rozz for that matter. She’s not sure what that means, but she sincerely hopes it doesn’t mean they are finalizing this plan she would supposedly condemn Astra for.

Shifting from her position on the couch, Alex turns to plop down onto her back. She can’t wait to get back to work, even though she’s stuck with desk duty for a month; she’s bored out of her mind, and ‘War and Peace’ does not quite bring her the peace of mind a good sparring session would bring.

Neither do Buffy reruns, for that matter.

She’s about to dig into the ninth chapter when a soft _thump_ in the kitchen draws her attention, and she tilts her head back to give it a quick check. The window is open, so she figures maybe the wind blew something onto the ground, but she couldn’t be farther off.

What she sees is the upside-down vision of Astra on one of the stools at her counter, making Alex jump slightly and veer back to a sitting position with some mild expletives.

Astra looks amused, but mercifully doesn’t comment on it, favoring getting straight to the point. “I’d like to take you up on your offer, Brave One,” she states.

Alex raises an eyebrow at the nickname, and eyes her critically now that she’s actually sitting upright. Astra’s here in her usual suit, which Alex can only assume is some sort of battle (or prison) uniform. The suit is covered in dirt of some kind, her hair looks rather disheveled, and she’s holding a big case of some sort. Alex nods towards the thing. “What’s in there?”

“Myriad, my project, our former plan,” Astra says plainly. “I know you won’t want to use it, but I couldn’t leave it behind. It’s quite… influential.”

There’s an expression on her face that Alex can’t quite place, and while she wants to know what this so called Myriad does and if it being influential means what Alex is suspecting it to mean, there’s another rather obvious question begging her attention.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“Put simply, I caused an internal conflict among the Fort Rozz escapees by killing my lieutenant,” Astra explains, cringing slightly as she adds, “my husband. They should be less of a problem now that they lack proper leadership.”

That was not at all what Alex was expecting to hear, and she’s left speechless. Not only did Astra betray her people, she practically neutralized them as a threat by _killing her husband_ to shift the balance of power and taking their collective goal with her, just to collaborate with them. This woman is a storm on two feet, and Alex can now understand how Astra earned her rank as a general.

She’s ruthless.

And no longer on an opposing side.

“You betrayed them and left them with chaos,” Alex concludes, only barely managing to wrap her head around all of that. “I guess that means you no longer have a place to stay either?”

Astra shakes her head, “No, but I’ll find something.”

Alex has a feeling that ‘something’ could very well end up being a place in the nearby forest, beneath the stars, but very much outside in the cold. Not that her physiology isn’t suited for those kinds of conditions, but she’d rather not have Astra out there anyway. “Don’t bother, you can stay with me.”

Astra looks around the open apartment, and her eyes fall on the only bed in the entire place, before she looks at Alex in a delighted sort of astonishment. “You’d let me sleep with you?”

Alex flushes at the implication - and apparent enthusiasm - before correcting her. “On the couch, I meant on the couch.”

“The couch?” She blinks, then looks at said piece of furniture in puzzlement. “That seems silly, there’s plenty of space in your bed.”

Sighing, Alex waves a hand dismissively. “If you’re gonna be picky, I’ll take the couch instead.”

“Oh no, it’s your bed, I couldn’t take it,” she says with a slight frown, “I’ll sleep on the couch, if you insist. I’ve slept on worse.”

Astra looks like a confused sad puppy in a way Alex has only seen Kara look, and she can see how they are related now. She groans, because while she can handle that look on Kara most of the time, she definitely cannot handle it on Astra.

“Oh god, fine, we can both sleep in my bed. But I swear if you so much as touch me, I will kick you out.”


End file.
